What are UGLIES?

They’re not really ugly...just not perfect! The USDA has strict guidelines regulating the cosmetic appearance of produce. We follow their guidelines in the production of our regular kettle chips, but UGLIES are made from potatoes that do not meet those specifications. This includes potatoes that are too large or too small; those with the wrong color or have the wrong sugar content. Some of these potatoes are slightly blemished and, of course, some are just farmer surplus. Until now, these orphaned potatoes were destined to become food waste.

Just to be clear, the potatoes we use are NOT diseased, rotting, or unripe.

What can you expect in the bag?

Brown Edges; Spots;
Darker All Over

"Cosmetic Imperfections"?

Since 1945 the USDA Grades and Standards for Fruits and Vegetables has defined what is "perfect produce" to the fruit, vegetable and specialty crop growers and buyers. Although the standards are voluntary, produce that doesn't meet these standards gets rejected. We’ve become accustomed to expecting our tomatoes to be perfectly round, our vegetables symmetrical, and our fruit unblemished. These expectations have driven up the costs of produce and created the problem of food waste.

Each year 6 billion pounds of produce goes unharvested or unsold for aesthetic reasons.

Wasted Food - landfills' largest component.

Americans throw out uneaten food averaging $165 billion each year and spend another 750 million dollars a year to dispose of it. This wasted food ends up rotting in landfills and is the single largest component of U.S. municipal solid waste, accounting for a large portion of methane emissions. Since 1974, U.S. food waste has risen 50%. Controlling our food waste is the first step in creating a sustainable food system.

If we reduced our food waste by just 15%, we could feed 25 MILLION AMERICANS!

Always Ugly. Always Delicious.

By working with regional farmers, Dieffenbach's is offering a solution to part of the problem. We purchase and process these potatoes with slight cosmetic imperfections and farmer's surplus for our UGLIES brand.